Sara Chaar’s ‘Inside of Outside’ show captivates Beirut, at Art on 56th
Sara Chaar’s latest show at Art on 56th Gallery in Beirut displays paintings worked with oil and wax. By tracing the walls of Beirut, she constructs, deconstructs and reconstructs. ‘Inside of Outside’ explores an abstract subject matter that moves beyond its original inspirations.
It has been a privilege to follow Sara Chaar’s career. My earliest article for her was for ‘Imagined Certainty’ exhibition at Art on 56th Gallery in 2021, followed by our New York City encounter ‘Wanderings’ at C.J. One Gallery, in fall of 2021. To see her come full circle with her latest show ‘Inside of Outside’ back at Art on 56th is truly inspiring.
The show presents what Gallerist Noha Wadi Moharram describes as “poetry paintings”. “‘Inside of Outside’ moves beyond the architecture of the city,” she states. “They suggest landscapes seen from above [..] The distinction between landscape and body begins to dissolve. A landscape can become a body; a body can open into territory.”
The artist Sara Chaar at Art on 56th Gallery (photo copyright Bernard Khalil)
Sara Chaar and Gallerist Noha Wadi Moharram at Art on 56th Gallery (photo copyright Bernard Khalil)
The artist, nowadays based in France, took on Beirut’s layers as a catalyst for reflection. “Beirut served as a reflective subject,” she told me. “It was like opening a discussion and a space to explore elements of identity and collective stories that the city holds.”
What truly struck me was the power the paintings emanated, contrasting with the deep and poetic titles they hold. ‘What the Fire almost Took’, ‘Wounds Know the Way Home’, ‘The Soil Held its Scars’, and ‘Beneath a Silent Ruin’ are some examples. They evoke a plotline in a story with visceral events. I asked the artist about this. Her reply?
“The titles are small poetic pathways, a point of departure for the viewer. Some evoke intimacy, others rupture, land or presence.”
‘The Cold Opening’ (2026) by Sara Chaar, cold wax and oil on canvas 200x150cm (photo by Mansour Dib)
‘Beneath a Silent Ruin’ (2026) by Sara Chaar, cold wax and oil on canvas 200x150cm (photo by Mansour Dib)
One of my favorite pieces is ‘The Cold Opening’ (2026); a bold, lavender colored piece with a vertical slit. It reminds me of a portal, and it seems that something has dissipated through the crack. It also looks extremely feminine. “This painting has a vertical slit that I saw as a wound, with something hidden beneath,” Sara explains. “It is mysterious, like peeking into something deeper, fractured, perhaps something bodily. I veiled it with soft, translucent white layers, like tending to that wound, protecting it. There is a tenderness in this painting, a protective and feminine aspect, as if it’s nurturing something fragile and still healing.”
‘The Water Holds the Sand’ By Sara Chaar (photo copyright Bernard Khalil)
Sara’s color palette has truly evolved and matured. In her previous exhibitions, she either avoided color for thematic reasons or worked with a limited palette in order to focus on boldness. In ‘Inside of Outside’ the color studies are essential to the compositions; the paintings literally bloom before our eyes. We imagine storms, landscapes, natural disasters, an explosion of emotion; there is no limit to the creative outbursts via the colors.
In her own words:
“Throughout this series, I found myself moving between muted, mineral tones and more saturated colors. Chalky whites, greys and earthy hues coexist with vivid blues, yellows, pinks and purples. These contrasts gradually suggested different associations, from the cold materiality of concrete and eroded landscapes to the warmth of flesh, the intimacy of the body, and notions of territory and home.
Through this process, the architectural surfaces begin to take on an organic, sometimes bodily quality. Color becomes a way of transforming the original fragments into something beyond their point of departure, allowing the paintings to exist somewhere between landscape, architecture and the body, without being confined to any one of them.”
‘The Space that Waits’ by Sara Chaar (photo copyright Bernard Khalil)
More paintings from ‘Inside of Outside’ series at Art on 56th Gallery by Sara Chaar (photo copyright Bernard Khalil)
The paintings are stunning and vast, beautifully displayed in the elegant space of Art on 56th Gallery. The show is truly one of the highlights of this year for the city of Beirut.
‘Inside of Outside’ collection by Sara Chaar is on view at Art on 56th Gallery in Gemmayze, Beirut.
Follow the artist Sara Chaar on Instagram here.
Follow the gallery Art on 56th on Instagram here.
Follow the author Maie El-Hage on Instagram here.
You can explore my previous research on Sara Chaar by reading my articles on Arte&Lusso Online Magazine published as follows:
For ‘Imagined Certainty’ Exhibition click here, and for ‘Wanderings’ New York Exhibition click here.
You may also like
3 Artists and Nayla Tueni Create Art for a Cause
Artists Louma Rabah, Semaan Khawam & Elias Ayoub team up with journalist Nayla Tueni to create Art f
‘Spring in January’ at Urbanist Art Gallery in Dubai blooms with Fine Art
Urbanist Art Gallery launches the spring season with a refreshing collection of fine art paintings a
Sevil Dolmaci Gallery in Istanbul is an iconic Building with a must-see Curation
Visiting the Sevil Dolmacı Gallery in İstanbul, in the historic Villa İpranosyan Building, was th
